


The Snake’s Aria

by Methoxyethane



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Dancing, Everyone Is Gay, First Kiss, M/M, Post Time-Skip
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-25
Updated: 2019-08-25
Packaged: 2020-09-26 04:01:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,328
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20383333
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Methoxyethane/pseuds/Methoxyethane
Summary: Ferdinand coerces a dance out of Hubert.





	The Snake’s Aria

Ferdinand von Aegir had followed Edelgard when she dissented from the church for a number of reasons, important ones that didn’t need to be rehashed like how he believed in her cause and wanted to stand by her and guide her into making good decisions as Emperor. 

But there was another, more secret, personal reason he believed in her cause of abolishing the Church’s state of political affairs. Under the old ways of Fodlan, a man was simply not allowed to engage in romantic adventures with another man, nor could a woman do so with another female. Sexual freedom and expression were at the absolute bare minimum needed to propagate the species, and as someone who was not only a believer in free love but incidentally attracted to other men while he was at it, a new world order held a certain… appeal.

Not that any of that was important. He’d hardly had time for love of any kind in the five long years of the war, had never even been with anyone since a few casual flirtations with Claude in high school which hadn’t even gotten further than a few chaste kisses stolen in between classes. His own life, he had determined long ago, had little time for romance in the face of all his duties to Fodlan and her Emperor. It was honestly for the sake of other people he pursed the ideals of a greater and freer continent, and not on the part of any desires of his own.

Not… not to say he didn’t have desires. They were just… inappropriate. Not because they were homosexual, simply because any desires he had found himself with were… very ill-placed. Ferdinand was a man of impeccable taste, he liked to think, just... Not when it came to men. And he didn’t even mean Claude.

Although, come to think of it, the Golden Deer who had been his first crush did have one very specific thing in common with the man who would take up Ferdinand’s thoughts for the next few… well years if he was being perfectly honest. Apparently Ferdinand liked a man with a tactical mind, someone with a little something else hidden underneath the surface.

He still remembered the first time he had become aware of his… unfortunate attraction. It had been nearly five years since and he’d been half drunk at the time, but the memory rang out distinct and clear in his mind.

It had been nearly one year since they’d lost the professor, and it was the hardest part of the entire war. They kept losing as much ground as they gained, and while they’d won this last particular battle it had come at a high cost of human life.

When everyone got back to the base camp there was cause for celebration, one of the first times in the war. The drinks were passed around in mass, breaking out the entire storehouse to get as much of the army as drunk as possible, in hopes of drowning out the sorrows of losing comrades with the sweet rushing of finally gaining ground against Rhea’s church.

The old embers of The Black Eagle class were bound to gravitate towards each other, and not just because they were all the highest ranking officers under her Majesty. No it was the bonds of camaraderie and friendship that kept them close together, and that night had been no exception.

It had gotten to be the end of the night where few members were still left awake when Ferdinand turned the conversation over to Hubert. There was no one left around but the two of them and a napping Lindhart, after all, and even though they had historically never gotten along Ferdinand still considered he and the ghoulish advisor friends of a sort. One could be friends with someone they argued with constantly, right? Right. If that wasn’t the case then Ferdinand would have no friends at all, so it must be true.

And he liked Hubert, if he were to be completely honest with himself. He may have been gloomy and colder than a snowman, but his positive qualities ran even deeper than the ice in his veins. Hubert was the very model ideal of the word loyalty… no, even more than that. Devotion was the word Ferdinand wanted. His devotion to Edelgard went so deep it went down past the ice in his heart to settled into his very bones, affected every action and every decision in his life. Hubert absolutely lived for Queen and Country, and rather than find it frustrating or off-putting Ferdinand had always found it quite admirable. He believed in Edelgard and he believed in what she could do for the people of Fodlan, and would pursue absolutely any means to achieve the ends he desired. Not everyone was so strong willed.

In the end he doesn’t remember what they were talking about originally, or how it had turned to Ferdinand trying to make fun of Hubert. They had both been deep in their drinks and the last thing Ferdinand remembered saying was something about Hubert’s newest haircut making him look more like a vampire than ever.

“Like you don’t look like some character from a gothic romance novel yourself,” Hubert had smirked, gesturing to Ferdinand’s hair where it was curling around his neck. “I see you’re growing your own hair out,” and, because he was a terrible person, the next thing he said was, “It makes me wonder if you leave it loose like this because you’re trying to taunt someone into pulling it for you.”

Being a little drunk as he was, it took Ferdinand a moment to wonder why, exactly, he would want someone to pull his hair. And then he actually imagined it, actually envisioned Hubert’s large hands slowly winding into his hair, fingers sliding into the long locks at the base of his neck and closing in to give the hair a sharp, hard tug. The shiver that went down his spine at just the mere thought was enough to give Ferdinand a good shake, and he felt his face heat up in a blush that had only made Hubert laugh.

It was then Ferdinand had realized his feelings for Hubert may go deeper than mere admiration for his character, and the attraction was… well. An ignorable inconvenience. Especially when most of their conversations turned to arguments of some sort or another.

At least, for the first few years they did. When the professor returned and the tides of war finally started turning in their favor again, they had time for more levity in their lives. With that came everyone growing closer than they had dared to before, friendships growing deeper everywhere among the relieved members of the Empire. 

Ferdinand and Hubert’s relationship had been included, and after a shared laugh over buying each other a gift at the same time, the two of them had grown closer than ever. They were friends now, and it filled Ferdinand with happiness to know that he’d managed to crack through Hubert’s icy barriers to truly earn his trust.

It just… didn’t help with the situation where Ferdinand was deeply, deeply attracted to him. Made that part worse, really. Less ignorable, as it went on, but he also wasn’t willing to give up their afternoon tea times together for anything, so. It was what it was. Not like there was much of a dream of Hubert ever returning whatever feelings Ferdinand might have for him.

Well… maybe that wasn’t strictly accurate. Sometimes, there would be things Hubert would say or a certain way his gaze would linger on Ferdinand that made him wonder. Wonder if he’d said such a strange thing all those years ago because he’d been thinking of running his hands through Ferdinand’s hair himself.

It took all the way until after the war for anyone to act on their strange subtle flirtations, of course. Not just himself and Hubert, in fact, but another far more infamous couple who happened to get together at the end of the war.

Ferdinand was in fact at the wedding of those two infamous people at this instant, and the celebrations for such an auspicious occasion were… intense. It wasn’t every day the Emperor married her head tactician after all, even if anyone who knew Edelgard and Professor Byleth personally had seen it coming for ages.

But the occasion was even more special than just the wedding of her Majesty, or even the first wedding after the war - those being of course, monumental enough on their own. But it was, with less renown, also the first time two women had married each other legally and publicly in over a thousand years, an event that would pave the way for the world to come.

It was a beautiful ceremony, and later on when the happy couple were sharing their first dance Ferdinand couldn’t help but to slip over and see how Hubert was taking the occasion of his beloved Majesty’s wedding.

“You look pleased,” he commented when he observed Hubert watching the pair as they danced. “One would think you’re genuinely happy for Edelgard and her marriage.”

Hubert’s smile morphed into a smirk, and he regarded Ferdinand warmly. “One would think you actually mean it when you say things like that,” he responded easily. He looked back at Edelgard and Byleth, and his face turned honest as he spoke. “But of course I am happy for them. Lady Edelgard deserves all the happiness in the world after the war she has spent her life fighting. Why would I be anything but supportive of that?”

Ferdinand couldn’t help but pursue the topic, having been dying to tease the man about this for as long as he could remember. “Why haven’t you heard? There isn’t a gossip in the Empire who hasn’t whispered about your long forbidden love for Lady Edelgard. Why, it’s the most well-known secret in all of Fodlan.”

“Then Fodlan’s rumor mills need better sources,” Hubert scoffed. “Such romantic intentions would only be detrimental to my service of Lady Edelgard. A foolish notion, to its very core.”

Ferdinand smiled. “Yes, that’s what I tried to tell them. Apparently their version is more tragic, and everyone knows drama is more interesting than the truth.”

That comment, as he’d hoped, was enough to pull a short chuckle out of Hubert. “How negligent of me to forget that.”

They went back to watching Byleth and Edelgard’s dance, which was winding to a close as the floor filled with other dancers. The newly wedded pair didn’t mind that they were no longer alone, having only eyes for each other as they continued spinning slow circles in the center of the floor.

How lovely an image they made, Ferdinand was certain a thousand poets with a thousand words each would never match their beauty at this moment. Not because of how lovely the women were, but because, for the first wedding Ferdinand had ever been privileged to attend, the betrothed couple was so ridiculously, hopelessly in love with one another. He had only ever been to arranged weddings before, and had never had the chance to see for himself the glow of two people who were truly happy together before now.

He wanted to bask in it, share in the happiness of their new union. And so, he dared to reach for a bit of that happiness himself, if only for a moment.

“Hubert,” Ferdinand said to his friend. “Dance with me.”

A thin eyebrow raised in incredulous surprise. “Pardon me?”

“Dance with me,” Ferdinand said again with a confident smile. “It’s not like it’s inappropriate anymore. Edelgard just promised that for all men and women. You have no reason to say no, so let’s dance.”

“I have no reason to reject other than not wanting to, you mean.” Hubert said, still giving Ferdinand one of those looks like he couldn’t believe the words that spilled out of his mouth were real. 

“Nonsense,” Ferdinand insisted, resting a hand high on Hubert’s arm to gesture that they should just go dance now. “It will give the gossips something new to talk about, wouldn’t that entertain you?”

“I do not concern myself with the idle thoughts of those who do not matter,” Hubert said, but there was a smile in his voice. He set his own hand on top of Ferdinand’s. “But I will indulge you, if only for the reason that I know you won’t leave it alone and will pester me for a dance until I relent.”

Ferdinand beamed at him. “See? Isn’t it wonderful how well we know each other?”

Hubert scoffed like the idea was laughable, but Ferdinand could still see the barest hint of a smile curling at his lips as he led them both to the dance floor.

Since Ferdinand had been the one to ask for the dance it was only polite to let Hubert lead, which the other man took to easily. In fact, for all that no one had ever seen him do it before Hubert had more than his fair skill at the art of dance, leading Ferdinand across the floor and into the crowd of paired dancers where they’d blend in with everyone else as smoothly as drops of water joining a bath.

And so, Ferdinand let himself indulge, relaxing into the dance and allowing himself to be lead in small circles across the floor. Hubert’s hand was on his waist, their bodies drawn close together as they wove across the dance floor, where everyone else seemed to disappear around them. All Ferdinand could see was Hubert’s face, all he could smell was his cologne. All he could feel was was the smooth flow of their dance together, the shared breath of their chests rising and falling where they were pressed close together.

It was wonderfully, sinfully intimate, now that Ferdinand let himself bask in Hubert’s long sought after attention. He had danced with many maidens at many parties in his day, but somehow none of them had been as unbearably close as this dance was right now. 

Ferdinand knew it was because of his current company. There was a commanding quality to Hubert, an element of restrained power that he exuded in all actions, like he had the entire world tied to strings at the ends of his fingertips. He had that presence even now, and being in such direct contact with Hubert and having his attentions focused solely on Ferdinand was… kind of intoxicating. It made Ferdinand’s heart flutter wildly in his chest, where they were pressed so close he feared Hubert could hear it even over the music.

Eventually the music had to come to an end, and so did the dance. “Come,” Ferdinand demanded as they left the floor to filter back to the tables in the dining hall where most of the celebration was crowded into. “Join me for a drink. I feel like it’s been ages since I tasted wine.”

“Your obsession with tea betrays you,” Hubert said. “And I’m not going to be able to get rid of you, am I? Out of all the friends we have you've decided I need your full attentions for the evening.”

“Out of all our friends you’re the most pathetic,” Ferdinand said cheerfully. “Even Lindhart has a love life, if you hadn’t noticed. All of our friends have already paired off beautifully.” He gestured not to the newlyweds, but to a table a few meters away where Dorothea and Petra where sitting practically in each other’s laps, hand in hand.

“It would be impossible not to notice,” Hubert said, voice dripping with his own particular brand of disdain, most likely at the notion that so many of his close comrades were struck down by the infliction that was human emotion. “Statistically, the odds of such a configuration of homosexuals reach baffling numbers.”

“Yes, we really do,” Ferdinand laughed, as they surely both knew he was included. “Birds of a feather flock together, do we not?”

Hubert paused. “Yes,” he admitted. “I suppose we do.”

Ferdinand’s heart caught in his throat, his own eyebrows rising in surprise at the admission. Best not to draw attention to it though, and so Ferdinand simply fetched the nearest waiter to steal a bottle of wine from him, pouring both Hubert and himself a drink.

They only shared the one bottle between them, but they managed to draw it out for hours. They chatted idly about anything they could think of, from the extravagant wedding plans to what was going to be next for the Empire’s now vast and unused military. Their glasses were long empty now, and Hubert was loose and almost smiling in a way that warmed Ferdinand up better than the wine ever could.

“I suppose I must thank you,” Hubert said, almost abrupt in the broach of topic. “I do believe if I’d been left alone like I wanted tonight I might have sunk into a bit of melancholy.”

“Oh?” Ferdinand prompted, hoping to get more out of the stoic advisor by keeping his own words short.

“Yes,” Hubert nodded. “While I wasn’t lying when I said I was truly glad for Lady Edelgard, that does not stop a bit of loneliness from rising at the thought of her marriage. For so long it had been only her and I against the world, it is… strange to think we are no longer the only person in the world the other can trust.”

“That’s understandable,” Ferdinand agreed. “You’ve been her vassal since you were children, after all. Anyone would get a little lonely knowing their best friend was sharing their life with someone new.”

Hubert gave him a bitter little half smile. “Indeed. And I also must admit your company this evening has been more enjoyable than it has been irritating. You have been more than gracious, I needed the distraction and I had… fun. Thank you, Ferdinand. Your friendship proves invaluable.”

Ferdinand’s jaw was slack, and a blush burned across his face.

“Ah,” Hubert smiled. “I apologize. I had forgotten any compliments were strictly to come in written form.”

“Not at all,” Ferdinand recovered himself quickly, shaking his head. “As it happens, I love arias, and once one gets used to it the snake has a lovely singing voice.”

Hubert hummed a little laugh out with his next breath. 

There was silence then, and for a horrible moment Ferdinand realized that the party had ended around them. The evening was already over, and this gratitude was probably Hubert’s way of saying goodnight before they parted ways.

Ferdinand didn’t want the night to end. 

“I want to dance again,” he said abruptly. “You should dance with me, Hubert.”

“I most certainly will not,” Hubert said flatly, to Ferdinand’s great disappointment. 

To take it further he even stood up, pushing back his seat and rising out of it slowly. “However,” he said, looking down at Ferdinand where he was still sitting at the table. “I have a bottle of much better wine in my room. If you’d like, you can join me to share it.”

Ferdinand lit up like a holiday fire, practically shooting out of his seat. “Lead the way, my friend.”

They made it back to Hubert’s room without incident, although Ferdinand’s heart was all a flutter nerves at the prospect of being invited into Hubert’s private quarters. For all the time they might have spent together Ferdinand had never been invited into Hubert’s actual room before, and the prospect of sharing a bottle of wine so close to Hubert’s own bed was… Not something Ferdinand should be dwelling on, if he were a gentleman.

Hubert cracked open the aforementioned bottle of wine, pouring them both glasses that they took another hour to drain. Ferdinand found himself fascinated by Hubert’s room, from the dark curtains to the book collection he took no shame in flipping through and commenting on; every little detail was of interest. 

Hubert indulged him on all of it, letting Ferdinand paw through the contents of his shelves and quietly explaining the history of the few but various nicknacks he had allowed himself to acquire. 

“Is this Bernadetta’s handiwork?” Ferdinand asked, fingering a hoop of embroidered cloth to feel the smooth tiny stitches under his fingertips. Both of them had taken off their capes and gloves sometime since the wine had been opened, so he could feel the delicate stitch work with his bare hands. “When did she give this to you?”

“Last winter,” Hubert said from his chair. “I had a cold for a month straight, so she insisted on gifting me a handkerchief.”

It was still in an embroidery hoop like it had only just been completed, and was currently hanging on Hubert’s wall. Ferdinand grinned. “Couldn’t bear to use it?”

“It was simply too well made to soil in such a manner,” Hubert shrugged.

How cute, how Hubert could pretend not to value his friends then keep their mementos on full display in his room. He wondered if Hubert had held all of Ferdinand’s gifts with such regard. Probably, he smiled.

“I remember that cold,” Ferdinand commented idly. “It lasted the full Ethereal Moon, right? And ended right when we would have held the White Heron Ball.” An event which hadn’t been held in years, even though it was Ferdinand’s favorite holiday. They really ought to start it up again. 

“Ah,” Ferdinand sighed, letting a touch of his own melancholy sink into his voice. “I want to dance.”

“Still?” Hubert asked, reminding Ferdinand that he had just said that out loud. 

It was Ferdinand’s turn to shrug. “What can I say? There was an entire party tonight and I spent it with you instead of enjoying the dance floor.” He paused, realizing how that might sound. “Not that it was a wasted evening. I just usually take any opportunity to indulge in the fine arts that I can.”

Hubert’s smile was softer than usual, warm and inviting. “Then allow me to indulge you one more time.” He pushed himself out of his seat, walking over to where Ferdinand was dawdling by the bookcase, offering out a hand.

“Really? You aren’t just teasing me again?” Ferdinand asked, taking the hand regardless. 

“I would not offer if I did not mean it,” Hubert said simply, pulling Ferdinand close and settling his other hand on his waist. 

There was no music to dance to so there was no rhythm to follow but their own. They took slow steps in the small space between the dresser and bookcase, the largest space the rather comfortably-sized room could afford them. 

With the silence of the room and Hubert’s bare hand in his, it was the most intimate moment Ferdiand had ever experienced with another person. Their footsteps were so quiet that Ferdinand could only hear their breathing and the beating of his own heart, a sound oddly sedate for the extreme circumstances he was in right now. One would think it would be beating itself to death, being so close to the object of its affections right now.

Instead the entire affair was oddly… soft. A gentle moment between two people, moving in slow silent circles around a half-dark bedroom with no one around to ever know about it.

If Hubert was willing to indulge in the dance itself, Ferdinand figured he wouldn’t mind if he laid his head upon Hubert’s shoulder. The height difference between them was scant inches to Ferdinand had to lean down a little to reach it, but once he got there it was the most comfortable place he’d ever been.

If possible, the dance slowed down even further, two bodies simply rocking together in the quiet night, holding each other close. Eventually, Hubert let go of his hand, and when Ferdinand supposed that meant he had to move away soon he was proved wrong when Hubert used the free hand to pet his hand through the long hair falling down Ferdinand’s back.

He stroked the hair in long, slow movements as they danced, Ferdinand resting his own free hand on Hubert’s shoulder. He didn’t know how long it lasted but it felt like an eternity, every touch of Hubert’s hand in his hair sending fresh shivers down his spine.

They slowed to a stop, simply standing in the quiet and holding each other. “I think,” Ferdinand lifts his head, smiling up at Hubert. “It’s about time you ought to kiss me.”

The returning curl of Hubert’s lips was slight but possible to miss. “I think it is indeed,” he agreed, the hand in Ferdinand’s hair sliding up to cup the back of his neck. 

He leaned down, gracing Ferdinand with his lips pressing against his own. The kiss was warm, and Ferdinand felt his whole body heating up and his own lips twitch into a smile underneath Hubert’s. He wound his arms around Hubert’s neck to pull him in close, their bodies pressed close together and Ferdinand poured all of his passion and longing into their kiss.

Hubert pulled away, hand still playing in Ferdinand’s curls as he smiled gently. “If I take you as a partner, are you going to be so demanding all the time?”

“What, I’ve only commanded your attention the entire evening. I could have been much more demanding, I’m sure.”

Hubert chuckled. “I look forward to that moving further, then.”

Moving further. Partners. The words filled Ferdinand with hope and joy and longing, a future setting out in front of them, a road they would take together from now on. Hubert was a gloomy bastard on his best days, but he was a proper gentleman at heart, and Ferdinand was looking forward to seeing what a life together could be like. 

He kissed Hubert again. On the table a few feet away, two glasses of wine sat, untouched for the rest of the night.

**Author's Note:**

> I haven’t finished the game yet because the final boss battle is too hard.
> 
> Also, I actually ship Dorothea with Sylvain, but for the sake of the fic it was funnier to make the whole of the Black Eagles gay. ...besides Bernadetta. Unless she’s dating Lysithea or something. In fact, let’s say that’s the case.


End file.
